RA RA RA ...
So much theory about whether trading is a war or not. Everybody has their own opinion.
It isn't just subjective, but it's completely relative. All these arguments here for or against the point are rather irrelevant, since nobody here is actually specifying what they're talking about! All these totalitarian opinions just make me shake my head. These traders are so limited to their own little world that they have little consideration for the possible trading environments of other traders.
If I watch a bunch of traders arguing their points whether it is or is not war, I would first ask what kind of trading it is they do.
Because it entirely depends on the trading style, trading medium and trading timeframe.
Let me clarify that a little:
Index Futures trading is a lot more like war than stock trading (because it's a two-sided market and complete zero-sum / minus-sum). There's no win-win situation, like possible in stocks. Things are a lot more competitive here.
Next, let's have a look at trading styles. If you read Larry Harris' book (yes the big one from IB), you'll see he distinguishes between about 30 different species of traders. Let's just focus on "Parasitic traders" here. Parasitic traders are Order anticipators, front-runners, sentiment-oriented technical traders, squeezers, bluffers, rumormongers and price manipulators. All of these are following some form of exploitive, to say rather aggressive way of taking resources off other people. This is a lot more like war than for example the other kinds of traders, such as informed traders, value traders, news traders, information-oriented technical traders, arbitrageurs, hedgers and various utilitarian traders.
You see, the correlation between trading and war can vary very widely depending on the style. Now we already have styles and media (issues).
Next, timeframes. Let's keep it simple: Position trading isn't exactly like warfare. Day trading is a bit more. Scalping very certainly is war. And scalping is a form of day trading.
I don't care what some dummies say - Anybody who claims scalping isn't war is an idiot / has no idea about scalping. Some scalp with simple setups, some prefer complicated varieties of tools (I do the latter).
Some warriors use big swords and armor (Samurai) and other warriors can still beat them with their bare hands (Okinawans practicing Karate against Samurai oppression), striking at them with a bare nukite (open hand : 3 fingers). They had enough practice to use 3 stiff fingers to break and penetrate a Samurai armor breastplate, penetrate through the chest and strike right into the heart. They only had one chance to swiftly kill the superiorly equipped Samurai, so they kept practicing. Scalping, similarly, can be done many ways. Whether it is done with lots of heavy high-tech weaponry or like an art form with lots of practice and spirit like the Karateka, it still remains warfare either way.
If you really want to succeed at scalping screen-based markets, and that is not just provide liquidity, but seriously exploit one opportunity after the other, you may want to have an arsenal of training similar to that of war general. When I scalp, I'd say as the more tech-oriented scalper, I have a fractally interlapping matrix of different timeframe screens, various indicators, Lv 2 screens, market depth screens, T&S screens, volume pressure charts etc. functioning as radar and (market maker) surveillance. It is like sitting in a very complex warplane's cockpit. You need to know every little knob, know how it all works and perform even under fire of other players / MM's and extremely high (momentum) velocity, without hesitation, without fear, and with a cool head and the will to kill for a piece of cheese and then to fire the afterburners and run, before the whole thing turns against you. You need to be able to anticipate other players' actions in order to outperform them and take money off them the next second / half second. You ambush them in order to get money. Isn't that somewhat related to war?
So, can we assume that for example scalping is a lot more like war than position trading or swing / day trading? How can we dare to slip into generalization then?
OK let's move on from here. People talk about what war is. What's war about? Spirit? Pride? Power? Nonsense. 90% of wars are fought for one reason: To gain resources. Spirit, pride, power etc, at least in the sense of war, are largely masquerades of desire to control and possess resources, thus wealth.
Yes, there were a few exceptions : The crusades were supposed to have happened "in the name of christ", in order to spread religion and to kill the atheists etc. But come on let's be honest: In reality it was just all about slaves, resources and land again.
All this in order to control and accumulate more wealth. Yes, WWI and WWII were started for economical reasons. The recent war on Iraq was a massive manslaughter entirely just to get control over fossil fuels, stories about WMD's that never existed and all that bullcrap. Who are they kidding? It doesn't matter anyway, people just forget about it in a hurry, that's the sad thing about it. But essentially, it's all for resources.
What are resources? Well, most resources today are defined in $ terms. Resources = Money. Money = Resources. We go to the stock exchange and fight for it or we go and fight our neighbour for it with a rifle. It's the same thing, in a different language.
It's exactly the same thing. If you're saying you are doing less harm than the guy who fires a gun you're just kidding yourself.
The fact that the company we're buying shares of is exploiting / killing workers / soldiers in other countries, such as Africa (thousands of American companies), Malaysia (Intel, Seagate, Quantum, IBM, Microsoft). The fact that today the pillars of western economy live off exploiting poor countries and child workers in order for us to make money doesn't seem to bother anyone. People like to think within their own little clean world, where everything is clean in beautiful corporate America. We buy shares of a great company and support a great cause. We're not fighting wars or something. No. We're good people. Get a bloody life. It sure is a war within a much larger war we're participating in, and a fine suit or glorious description doesn't make it any better. Whenever you buy a stock or future, you're fueling that machine, you're part of it, supporting and perpetuating it.
By the way, did anybody read "Pit Bull" by Marty Schwartz? I think for anybody who thinks short-term trading in particular isn't war, should read the book again. Marty Schwartz got his attitude and discipline from training in the US Marine Corps. His performance as an aggressive champion trader is yet to be beaten. He turned $15K into $20,000,000+ in 10 years. And this certainly wasn't because he was "in perfect harmony with the market". Not Marty.
Just realize that there are a lot of different traders out there, and lots of media and methods. Personally, trading isn't actually all that much of a war to me. I tend to scalp less these days, so it becomes a little less war-like. I indeed like to just ride the ups & downs, play trends and countertrends, much like surfing, and I relax while I'm doing it. I don't want the stress / war factor, I realized that over the long haul, it's only gonna make my heart surgeon money
Still, all that being said : While my trading is now more like Karate training - meditative and relaxing - It still comprises or serves the end-purpose of combat, be it hopefully for good purposes only...
Best Compliments,
~Scientist
